Ring-Necked Ducks
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Brightwood Park has some special visitors this winter. Three ring-necked ducks dropped in on the mallard and Canadian geese on the ponds. The three ducks left and returned with friends! Though they are known to visit small ponds and hang out with other waterfowl in the winter, they have not often been spotted in Brightwood.
These ducks seem to have a curious name since they do not sport a readily apparent ring around their neck. However, some 19th century biologists named them for chestnut colored feathers that ring the black ones of their head, back and chest. Even their scientific name, collaris (translated to “of the neck”), takes off on this not so distinctive feature. Most of these duck visitors were male. They had black, grey and white plumage. Their heads have a distinctive shape with a peak that can help to identify them. When the three returned, they brought along a female. Female rind-necked ducks are mostly brown with a lighter color facial feather. (See the slide show below.) Ring-necked ducks are divers who feed mostly in shallow waters. They can be found in marshy areas, small bodies of water, or even flooded fields. They enjoy all parts of aquatic plants including seeds, stems and roots in addition to algae. They also eat insects and mollusks. A young ring-necked duck survives mainly on insects. Male ring-necked ducks court females in the winter. Their courting includes splaying their head feathers, and thrusting their heads forward and back. Pairs will select nest sites near water for spring eggs. The females incubate eggs for 25-29 days. When ducklings hatch, they are able to swim within 12 to 24 hours. The mother duck leads them to water, where the ducklings will find their own food. In 49 to 55 days, the babies are ready to fly. Their mothers stay with them until they are ready to fledge. Ring-necked ducks are on the smaller side, but they are strong fliers. They are able to take off directly from water by springing up out of it unlike other diving ducks that must perform a running take-off. For more information on these interesting ducks, check out:
If you would like to listen to the sounds these ducks make, you can hear them at: |
American Bullfrog
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Brightwood Park is home to many bullfrogs. If you are quiet and lucky, in warm weather you might see them sitting in the water just along the pond edge. In the spring and summer, you can hear their distinctive calls in the park. They sound like they are saying, “jug-o-rum.” But what happens to bullfrogs in the winter?
Like turtles, bullfrogs are cold-blooded. Their temperature fluctuates with their environment. When the temperature turns freezing, they take up residence on the bottom of the ponds where the water temperature remains above freezing. They take in oxygen as the water moves over their skin. They don’t burrow in the mud but may slowly swim around or rest on the bottom. Bullfrogs’ bodies are also designed to produce more glucose while they hibernate to increase blood sugar levels that act like an anti-freeze. Bullfrogs can survive winter in hibernation because their metabolism slows down to preserve energy stores. Metabolism is the process a body uses to make energy. There is less need for energy in hibernation, so a bullfrog can exist without eating. However, bullfrogs need to be careful not to stop their “hibernation” too early if unseasonably warm weather fools them into believing spring has come. If they surface and begin to warm up, they can meet a tragic fate if winter weather returns. When the weather truly warms up, bullfrogs emerge. As their bodies adjust, their heart and lungs begin to work, and their metabolism speeds up once again. Bullfrogs are either green or brown. They may have splotches on their backs. Their ears called tympanum are located just behind their eyes. They have a skin ridge that ends just behind the tympanum that distinguishes them from green frogs whose ridge carries on down their backs. Male bullfrogs have a yellowish underbelly. Females are white. Males also have larger tympanums than females. On a male, the tympanum can be larger than its eyes. Bullfrogs use their calls to attract mates and establish their territory. You can listen to their call here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukK4nM9OpA Female bullfrogs lay up to 20,000 eggs at a time. The male bullfrog then comes and fertilizes the eggs. Tadpoles hatch from the eggs and take up to two years to mature into bullfrogs. In the wild, bullfrogs are thought to live between 7 to 9 years. Young tadpoles eat primarily vegetation but their diet expands as they grow. Adult bullfrogs will eat just about anything they can catch with their tongues. They are opportunistic and eat whatever comes along. Their diet can include crustaceans, snakes, fish eggs, bugs, salamanders, worms, bats, crayfish, fish, frogs, and even small rodents or young ducks. Bullfrogs are the largest frogs in this country. They can grow to between 3.5” and 8.” They are native to the Canada and mid-west to eastern United States. Due to human transportation of bullfrogs, they have spread to the western States and other parts of the world. Cultivated for food, bullfrogs are now taking up residence far and wide creating problems as an invasive species in their new habitats. For more information, check out: https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/frogs.pdf |
Brightwood Park Turtles
Photo courtesy of Chuan-Chu Chou
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Brightwood is home to many turtles, including eastern painted and red-eared sliders shown in the photo. All spring, summer and early fall you can find them sunning themselves on logs and other materials in the water. When the weather turns cold, the turtles disappear. Where do they go, and how do they survive? Click here to read about these fascinating animals that have lungs and need to breathe air but can survive months underwater. How do they do it? Surprising hint: they breathe through their butts! Click here to learn more! |
Sugar Maples - The Giving Trees
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Brightwood Park is home to many sugar maple trees that give us brilliant Fall foliage. These trees are very important for the shelter and food they offer to Brightwood's wildlife. Click here to learn about why these plants are so important and how climate change is threatening them.
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Photo courtesy of Chuan-Chu Chou
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Bats... Scary or Gentle Creatures of the Night?
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Have you noticed boxes on poles in the park? Ever wondered why they are there? They are bat houses, i.e. homes to encourage bats to take up residence. Many people think that bats are creepy, scary, spooky. After all, don’t they suck blood? So, why would we want to encourage them to hang around the park. The truth is that bats are really shy, gentle, intelligent and misunderstood creatures that are part of a healthy ecosystem. Read more about bats here. |
Mysterious Lichens
Photo by Chuan-Chu Chou
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Lacy patches of grey, tufts of orange string, green leaf-like growth, colorful crust covers on rocks or trees ... what are these mystery organisms found throughout Brightwood Park? They vary in shape and color and can be found growing on rocks, trees, and other surfaces. Not to be confused with moss, lichens are a mysterious organism.
Lichens are found all over the earth from polar regions to the tropics! Most grow on land but a small percentage can even live in water. They are especially unique in that they are comprised of both fungi and alga –in this symbiosis, each component sustains the other. The fungus provides moisture allowing alga to grow in otherwise inhospitable climates. Alga absorbs nutrients and uses photosynthesis to create food thereby feeding the fungus. Read more about lichens here. |
Squirrels
Flickers
Photo by Chuan-Chu Chou
Who are Pollinators and Why are they important?
Brightwood Ducks
Mighty Oak Trees
Photo by Chuan-Chu Chou
Herons
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During the warmer months, you may see some large wading birds in the pond looking for a meal or a quiet place to hang out. Herons grace our ponds but can be a bit skittish when humans come around. You have to be quiet and patient or they will fly off. When great blue herons fly, they curve their neck in an "S" share (similar to the photo) and tuck their long legs up. Read more about herons here. |
Photo by Chuan-Chu Chou
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Leaves
Photo by Lloyd Marks, MD, Ph.D.
Why do leaves change color in the Fall?
In spring and summer, leaves have chlorophyll that uses sunlight to make food the tree needs. Since chlorophyll is green, leaves are green when there is a lot of sunlight – like longer summer days.
When the weather turns cooler and the daylight gets shorter, the chlorophyll breaks down, and leaves stop making food.
Without green chlorophyll, other colors in the leaves stand out. For example, some yellow and orange pigments masked by the green become visible in the fall.
Some other leaves have mixtures of colors from pigment and chemical changes that turn the leaves red, purple or brown.
For more information: https://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/leaves/leaves.htm
In spring and summer, leaves have chlorophyll that uses sunlight to make food the tree needs. Since chlorophyll is green, leaves are green when there is a lot of sunlight – like longer summer days.
When the weather turns cooler and the daylight gets shorter, the chlorophyll breaks down, and leaves stop making food.
Without green chlorophyll, other colors in the leaves stand out. For example, some yellow and orange pigments masked by the green become visible in the fall.
Some other leaves have mixtures of colors from pigment and chemical changes that turn the leaves red, purple or brown.
For more information: https://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/leaves/leaves.htm
Spiders Are Everywhere!
Photo by Chuan-Chu Chou
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So many spiders. They say you are never more than a few feet from a spider. They are artists creating elaborate webs and romantics listening for love on web threads for potential mates. What's not to love? Click here to find out more about spiders and listen to the sounds of their webs. |